Chapter Five: Equine Error
Following Catherine's death, during Henry's search for another wife, he would successfully father his first son. Unfortunately for him, he was illegitimate.
Henry FitzRoy was born on the 15th of January, 1517; his mother being Elizabeth Blount, an English noblewoman fairly low on the totem pole. While the young Henry was illegitimate, it did confirm to his father that he was capable of having male children, spurring him on even more to do so again.
Eventually, after around a year of searching, Henry decided on a match. He would wed his fourth wife on the 18th of April, 1517.
Bona, Duchess of Bari, born 1494, married 1517, died 1519
Bona Sforza, Duchess of Bari was a powerful woman in her own right, if not on the monarchical level. Throughout her life she had received numerous marriage proposals from men higher than herself, though all had been refused. When Henry opened a line of communication, most would have simply laughed and assumed he would be tossed aside the quickest of bunch given his growing reputation.
This, however, was not the case. Through his notable charm (his Kingly status notwithstanding) he was able to win Bona over when no one else had, and the two quickly eloped.
On the 18th of January, 1518, the two would welcome their first child, Helen. On the 13th of July the following year, she would be joined by a sister, Maude. Though, as was becoming routine, something would go awry.
On the 19th of November, 1519, both Bona and Henry went out for the day as part of a hunting party. Bona, having learned to ride as a child, rode beside Henry on her own horse, seemingly completely comfortable with her surroundings.
Despite this, something happened either to spook her horse, or she may have mistakenly caused her steed to trip over something on the trail. Whatever the case, Bona was thrown from her horse and suffered major physical injuries. Conflicting accounts state that she either died there on the trail, or shortly after being rushed home for medical attention.
Legally Bona's holdings would pass to her eldest daughter, Helen. This gave the house of Tudor a foothold in Italy, however Henry faced considerable pressure from both Spain and Naples to relinquish the territories. Seeing no use in stretching himself thin to keep them as part of England, and the other potential of having Bona's mother act as regent doing nothing to prevent foreign annexation, Henry would proceed to sell the territories to Spain for a comfortable sum.
Although the term didn't exist at the time, Henry in his writings makes it clear he felt an uncomfortable dose of déjà vu upon once again opening talks for a foreign marriage.
Issue:
With Eleanor of Austria
1. Mary, born 1507
With Catherine of Aragon
2. Margaret, born 1510
3. Elizabeth, born 1510
4. Anne, born 1511
5. Catherine, born 1513
6. Cecily, born 1514
7. Joan, born 1516
With Bona, Duchess of Bari
8. Helen, born 1518
9. Maude, born 1519